Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $4.02 Million Stock Position in Yelp Inc. $YELP

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Yelp position by 47.5% in Q1, buying 52,275 more shares and bringing its stake to 162,435 shares valued at about $4.02 million.
• Yelp shares were up 2.6% to $24.61, leaving the company with a $1.35 billion market cap and trading well below its 12-month high of $35.99.
• In its latest quarter, Yelp beat earnings and revenue estimates, posting $0.30 EPS on $361.46 million in revenue, while analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average price target of $27.88.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Yelp Inc. (NYSE:YELP - Free Report) by 47.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 162,435 shares of the local business review company's stock after acquiring an additional 52,275 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.27% of Yelp worth $4,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of YELP. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Yelp by 100.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 892 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,158 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Yelp by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,159 shares of the local business review company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yelp by 181.3% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,297 shares of the local business review company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 836 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Yelp during the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.11% of the company's stock.

Yelp Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of YELP stock opened at $24.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.47. Yelp Inc. has a 12-month low of $19.60 and a 12-month high of $35.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $24.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.67.

Yelp (NYSE:YELP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The local business review company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $361.46 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.47 million. Yelp had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 20.19%. The company's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Yelp Inc. will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Yelp

In other Yelp news, CFO David A. Schwarzbach sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.60, for a total value of $199,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 209,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,567,380. The trade was a 3.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Craig Saldanha sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.72, for a total transaction of $29,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 267,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,620,881.20. This represents a 0.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,207 shares of company stock worth $631,645. Insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Yelp in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $28.00 price objective on Yelp in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Yelp from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Yelp from $28.00 to $24.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Yelp from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $27.88.

About Yelp

Yelp is a digital platform that connects consumers with local businesses through user-generated reviews, ratings and multimedia content. The company's flagship offerings include the Yelp website and mobile applications for iOS and Android, where users can search for and discover restaurants, shops, service providers and other points of interest. In addition to crowd-sourced reviews and photographs, Yelp provides business profile pages featuring hours, contact information, menus and direct messaging capabilities.

Yelp generates revenue primarily through advertising services sold to small and medium-sized enterprises.

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